Islamabad Pakistan January 26 ANI A report prepared by Pakistan's Ministry of Finance showed that the federal government's burden was Rs 11.8 trillion higher than the legally allowed limit set by parliament and that some targets under the debt management strategy were also breached.
The policy statement looked at the debt conditions during the fiscal year 2020 -- 21 -- the third year of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf.
The report was approved by the cabinet on the day after the PTI government took the most expensive asset-backed loan in the history of Pakistan by paying 7.95 per cent interest rate on seven-year Sukuk.
The International Monetary Fund has given three more days to Pakistan for a review of its case.
The Ministry of Finance statement also showed that in the last fiscal year, the external debt repayments decreased by USD 2.1 billion or 23.3 per cent compared to the previous fiscal year, contrary to the claims made by the government that the debt burden was increasing due to the repayment of old loans.
The cost of interest payments was reduced from USD 2 billion to USD 1.5 billion due to the debt suspension initiative by the G 20 countries. The report found that the banks held more than half of the government's debt papers, or Rs 12.8 trillion, the government's reliance on domestic commercial banks has gone up, as the banks hold almost half of the government's debt papers or Rs 12.8 trillion.